20 Dishes and Drinks Named After People

Find out in whose honor your favorite items were named

We get so used to the names of foods and beverages that we just take them for granted. But did you ever wonder who "Nacho" is? Or why Arnold Palmer has a drink named after him? We've found 20 items that are specifically named in honor of someone special. Read on to find out little-known food facts guaranteed to impress your next dinner date.

In the 1960s, golfer Arnold Palmer was relaxing at a bar in Palm Springs, California, when he decided to order a blend of lemonade and iced tea. The woman next to him overheard his order and said, "I'll have that Palmer drink." The beverage quickly spread throughout the golfing world and beyond. Photo courtesy of Arizona Beverage Co.

Back in the 1920s, the Curtiss Candy Company decided the perfect name for a candy bar should come from President Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth. At the time, the family called her "Baby." Photo courtesy of Nestle.

To promote the city of New Orleans as a banana port, Owen Edward Brennan, the owner of the French & Creole Restaurant, created this dessert in 1951. Needing a name for it, he used the last name of his customer and friend Richard Foster. Photo by Shutterstock.

Legend has it that in 1815, after winning the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, was a public hero. His personal chef decided to honor him with a special dish, which looked somewhat like a Wellington boot (and which was also named after the Duke). Photo by Shutterstock.

In 1948, Giuseppe Cipriani created a cocktail at Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy, by macerating peaches and mixing their purée with Champagne. He named it after Bellini, the 15-century painter. Photo by iStockphoto.

Chef Caesar Cardini is credited for this famous salad. In 1924, he allegedly constructed it in Tijuana, Mexico, on Fourth of July weekend when he was running low on food. He was lucky enough to find good basic ingredients in his kitchen—lettuce, garlic-flavored olive oil, lemons, Parmesan, Worcestershire sauce and eggs—which he tossed together to create the dish. Photo by Shutterstock.

In the early 1900s, opera singer Luisa "The Florentine Nightingale" Tetrazzini was a nationwide sensation. It was a popular tradition at that time to name dishes after the person who inspired them—or at least that's what legend says Chef George Auguste Escoffier did. Photo courtesy of Zack Sheppard via Flickr.

The Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood claims that around 1937, owner Bob Cobb was scouring the kitchen for something to curb his appetite, so he began throwing random ingredients into a bowl. He later added the dish to the menu and named it after himself. Photo by Shutterstock.

Believe it or not, this treat was actually invented in the U.S. In 1852, Sam German created baking chocolate for the well-known Baker's Chocolate Company and named it "Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate." But the first appearance of the recipe wasn't until 1957, when a homemaker submitted it to a Dallas newspaper. Photo by Shutterstock.

It is said that Prime Minister Earl Charles Grey of Britain named this tea after himself in the 1830s. He received tea leaves made with bergamot oil and citrus as a gift and later gave the recipe to the London tea establishment, Jackson of Piccadilly. Photo by Shutterstock.

In 1928, the HEATH English Toffee bar came to be, thanks to Heath Brothers Confectionery. Almost immediately, the Heath brothers found success with the candy bar, which is still manufactured by the Hershey Foods Corporation. Photo courtesy of Hershey's.

In 1948 Dallas socialite Margaret "Margarita" Sames wanted a refreshing poolside drink while on vacation in Mexico. Using her favorite liquor, she tested different combinations of tequila, Cointreau and lime until she found the perfect combo of sweet, salty and sour. Photo by Shutterstock.

Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, and her husband, King Umberto, were traveling in Naples during the late 1800s when Chef Raffaele Esposito made them three specialty pizzas at his restaurant. Their favorite was the mozzarella, tomato and basil, created to mimic the colors of the Italian flag, so Esposito named the pie after the queen. Photo by Shutterstock.

When Australian singer Dame Nellie Melba was ill in the late 1890s, she was fed these crisp cracker-like toasts to settle her stomach. Chef Escoffier, who first created the crackers, named them after the singer, for whom Peach Melba is also named. Photo by Shutterstock.

One night in 1943, across the U.S. border in Piedras Negras, Mexico, Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya was working as maitre d' at the Victory Club. When a group of military officers' wives came in as he was getting ready to close down, he couldn't find the chef, so he threw together baked tortillas, Cheddar and jalapeños—and nachos were born. Photo by Shutterstock.

Arnold Reuben, founder of Reuben's Restaurant and Delicatessen, concocted this combo one night in 1914 when he was making a sandwich for a down-and-out actress named Anna Selos. He originally named the sandwich after her, but later changed it to the Reuben Special. Photo by Shutterstock.

Dr. J.J. Salisbury, an American Civil War physician, was adamant about his dietary beliefs, which included the notion that vegetables and starches would cause heart disease and other illnesses. He created a ground beef and onion dish to be consumed three times a day with lots of hot water to flush out the system. Photo by Shutterstock.

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel of Honolulu claims their bartenders were the first to serve this nonalcoholic drink in the 1930s. It was named after a regular guest of the hotel, child actress Shirley Temple. Photo by Evan Sklar / Getty.

Austrian immigrant Leo Hirshfield opened a small candy shop in New York City in 1896, where his goal was to create a chocolate that wouldn't melt as soon as the heat hit it. He named his sweet treat after his then 5-year-old daughter, Tootsie. Photo by Leo Hirshfield/Tootsie Roll.